Ai
by automailmechanic
Summary: Ai has had the hugest crush on Naoki since Middle school. He was a kind boy that was very smart, and came from a very distinguished family. However, when Ai confessed to him, he rejected her immediately, calling her stupid. What a jerk! But later on, he saves her life. If he hates her so much, why didn't he just let her die?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Ai's Confession

_I__ have to talk to him._ Ai was terrified. She had had a crush on Naoki since the very first day of Middle School. He was the smartest and the richest boy of all of Japan, the son of a renowned surgeon. He was tall and had mysterious blue eyes. His mother was American, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Naoki had black hair, inherited from his Japanese features on his father's side. He seemed to have it all together. He was chauffeured to school in a limo, and wore very distinguished shoes along with his school uniform. However, it wasn't his looks that Ai was drawn to, though they definitely contributed to it. It was his ability to stun an audience with very sensible words, solve problems as if they were nothing, and his unbelievable kindness. The first night she had seen him, she had no idea who he was. He was walking by her house at night, trying to chase a cat to return to an elderly woman. She had been so stunned at this kind act that she began to dream of him. Three days later, that same boy stepped up onto the platform at school, and gave a speech on studying hard and being there for each other throughout the middle school years, and stated that he was happy to be there with everyone. From that moment on, Ai was infatuated with him. She spied on his every day chores, watching him perform his duty as student body president. He seemed so serious, yet so efficient. He was kind to everyone. Now they were beginning high school, and Ai could no longer hold her feelings to herself. She knew that if she didn't do something soon, he would get a girlfriend. That thought was too unbearable. Ai glanced down at the love letter she wrote to check it over once again.

_Dear Naoki_

_I really, really like you! I've liked you since middle school-I saw you chasing a cat to return to it's owner, and I thought it was really nice! Would you go out with me?_

_Ai_

"Uuuggh! On second thought, maybe it's not a good idea!" Ai blurted out while crumpling the piece of paper.

"What's not a good idea?" Ai's best friend Akiko asked.

"Nothing," Ai muttered.

"You were going to give Naoki a love letter, weren't you?" Akiko stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes," Ai groaned, "and now I'm too nervous. What if he thinks I'm stupid?"

"You never know until you try. I'll come with you to deliver it if you want."

Ai nodded. "thanks, Aki, you're a true friend."

Akiko rose from her seat and waited patiently for Ai to stand up, and check herself in her pocket mirror. Akiko gently guided Ai toward class 1-A, where Naoki was just arriving.

Akiko gave Ai a little shove, to let her know it was time.

"Umm, Naoki-senpai!" Ai blurted out, her heart beating very quickly as she clenched the already wrinkly letter.

He stopped and looked at Ai. "What?"

"Would you please accept this?" she almost choked on her words.

"Is this a love letter?" He asked suspiciously.

Ai blushed and said nothing, and just looked down.

"I don't need that sort of thing," Naoki snapped. He walked away towards his class. "After all, girls are stupid."

Ai raised her head and stared in shock. _He didn't want it. He HATES me. He thinks I'm STUPID. _The shock settled in. As quickly as the beautiful face of Naoki was sweet in her mind, it was dashed. Everything that she thought he was suddenly wasn't. _Crap._ How could she have fallen in love with such an _idiot_ like him?

"Let's go, Akiko." Ai kept her head down, shading he eyes. She grabbed her best friend's hand and they walked away.

"_Ai_" Akiko murmured, placing her hand on Ai's back.

"I don't need any charity, Aki." Ai was trying her best not to cry, but the tears were already falling, and she was biting her lip so that no choked out sobs would emerge.

"I think I'm going to go freshen up a bit," Ai muttered as she stumbled into the nearest bathroom. She immediately shut herself into a stall, and then could not hide it. Her choked back sobs came out like an erupting volcano. She had not been just _crushing_ on Naoki all of these years. She had grown to _love _him. She thought she had a chance, but she was proven wrong the first day of high school. _I don't want to be here_, she thought. I want to leave. _Now._

After drying her tears, Ai stumbled out of the stall, crumpled up the love letter once again, and tossed it into the trash can. Instead of going to class, she ran with all her might out of the school and towards her favorite spot-Mom's grave. _Mom will know what to say_, Ai thought, while some unescaped sobs found their way to the surface.

Mom had died when she was four years old. She didn't remember too much, but she knew she had loved her. Mom would brush her hair for hours on end, and would tell her how beautiful she was. Mom always knew what to say to make her feel better. Unfortunately, Ai had forgotten how Mom had died. She knew it was bad, because Dad remembered. In fact, everyone remembered but Ai. It was like that part of her memory was completely roped off, banned forever from her consciousness. Why was mom gone, and what had happened to her? Ai finally reached her mother's grave, panting and heaving from the running. "Mom! What do I do? Naoki hates me!" She fell to her knees in front of the tombstone. "What do I do, mom? How do I react when I see him?"

Ai cried a few last sobs and sat there in silence, half expecting her mother to respond with "it will be ok, Ai. Just have hope. Life will go on."

After a few hours, Ai managed to get up and walk on. She needed to go home soon, if not go back to school. Father might ask questions, she realized. But even so, it would be better than returning to rejection. As she reached the front door, her father stood waiting.

"Otoosan! Why are you home? Don't you have work?"

"I got a call from your school. Why did you skip your first day of high school?" He growled. Ai had never seen him this angry. He usually responded in an understanding way. But then again, she had never done something as extreme as skip school. She had always attended classes, even if she didn't make the best grades in the classroom. Her father was furious. "Come in, Ai." He solemnly opened the door and allowed his daughter to come in. He shut the door behind her, and walked into the living room. He looked back at her, showing her that he meant her to follow. When Ai approached quietly and closely enough, her father stared into her eyes for a few minutes, with anger so immense that Ai cowered with fright. She had never seen her father like this before. It was terrifying. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a harsh, stinging powerful blow hit her cheek, and she fell to the floor.

"Don't you ever skip school again, do you hear me?" Her father bellowed. "You don't understand how ashamed I felt when receiving such a call from the school. What got into you, Ai? Don't you ever pull a prank like that again! You will go to the principle's office first thing in the morning and apologize! You will do whatever you have to do to stay a student at that school. It is a very prestigious place, and you are very lucky to have gotten in. You're lucky I could pull favors from the higher ups for you to get in there. You never would have had a chance otherwise. Don't you dare mess it up."

With that, he stalked out of the room, grabbing his briefcase, meaning to return to work. Ai stayed sprawled on the floor in shock. She had never had an encounter with her father like that ever before. After a few minutes, she slowly rose to her feet. Her left cheek hurt. She went to look in the mirror to see what damage had been done. There was no bruising, just a huge red spot with force of contact. She slowly shuffled to her room, too tired to cry anymore. Her father meant well. He was right. It had taken a lot to help her get into the high school she attended now. It had taken her father several long hours of asking favors for her to go. It was wrong of her to leave. With that in mind, she climbed into her bed, and fell asleep immediately.

"_Ai, it's mom." Ai heard a voice coming out of nowhere. Everything around her was white._

"_How's your cheek, honey? Is it still tender?" Ai reached for her cheek but felt nothing. She tried to speak, but had no words._

"_You know, Ai, you shouldn't stress your father out so. He is very worried about you, and can barely afford to keep you where you are. He might have a heart attack if he stresses too much._

_Ai stiffened when she heard that. She tried to ask if this was really true, but she could not find her voice. _

"_Ai, you need to hear me. You need to be good!" Her mother's voice became more frantic. Why was she stressed? Ai wanted to reassure her mother that she would do as she said and not stress father out, but she had no power to do that. _

"_Ai, Ai! Ai! AI!" her mother's screaming became more frantic. Suddenly she could smell smoke. What was going on, a fire? She could feel heat licking her face, but she still couldn't move._

"AI!" suddenly she jolted awake.

"Naoki?" She shrieked in surprise. He was on top of her, in her bedroom. "What-"

"We need to get out of here! Get up!" He yelled at her.

Looking around, Ai noticed that her room was on fire, destroying all of her things, even her only picture of mother. "_Mom!" _she shrieked.

"Get up!" Naoki grasped her hand and started for the door. Ai couldn't seem to move her body. She fell with a thump with the force that Naoki had asserted to move her. He turned back to glare at her. "Why won't you get up? Can't you see you'll die?"

"I can't move!" Ai quietly sobbed.

With a groan, Naoki quickly approached her and pulled her on his back. "You better thank me for this later, dummy." He quickly walked towards the window.

"Wait-we're two stories up!" Ai shrieked.

"Too bad. The stairs are on fire." When he opened the window, there were firefighters with a net at the bottom. He quickly shifted her to the front, and prepared to drop her.

"NO!" Ai screamed with fear.  
Naoki didn't listen. He let go and she fell through the free air, feeling her heart leave her chest. As suddenly as she was let go, she was caught in a net. She was quickly transferred to a stretcher, where they shoved her into a nearby ambulance.

"Naoki!" she yelled. She heard him land on the net, and people ask if he was alright and if he needed an ambulance. He told them he didn't need it, so they settled to questioning him. She couldn't hear him anymore, because they had shut the ambulance doors.

Immediately she could hear reports being passed between the several people looking over her body.

"What happened?" she murmered, but no one answered her.

"One second degree burn, and several first degree."

"How's her breathing?"

"Very shallow. Haruma-set her up with oxygen."

"Yes, sir."

"Sweetheart, we're about to put you to sleep, ok?"

"Ai looked at him with stunned scared eyes, but could not muster a reply. Soon she was out.


	2. Chapter 2: A New BeginningAwkward much

Chapter 2: A New Beginning-Awkward Much?

The sounds of shuffling feet and the discussion of whether or not to stick a feeding tube down Ai's throat brought her to consciousness. As her eyes opened slightly, she could hear a nurse say "She's awake," and another say "I'll go get her father".

Father?

Ai's eyes opened wider, and she tried to sit up.

A firm grip rested on her shoulder. "No," the nurse said. "Stay."

With frantic eyes, Ai barely rested under her grip. If she had more strength, she would have sat up regardless of the old woman's grip. Unfortunately, her hand kept her pinned to the pillow. A few seconds later, she saw her father quickly approach her with worry.

"Ai, I am so sorry. I left the oven on. I forgot I was brewing tea. Are you alright?"

Ai blinked in confusion. "I was talking to mom.." she mumbled.

"You will have to pardon her," the older nurse said, "she hasn't been completely with it. For some strange reason, she hasn't been able to move very well.

"She will be able to walk again, right?" her father immediately turned his attention to the nurse.

"Of course she will. We expect this is the cause of shock. The moment she recovers from that emotion, she should be just fine. However, she will have some scarring on a few locations of her body with one second degree burn and several first degree. She will need to stay for about a week to ensure safe recovery, and to administer pain medication. After that, however, she is home free. She may attend classes shortly after.

All Ai could do was look from her father to the nurse as the spoke of the particulars of her hospitalization, and what she would be capable of upon her return to school. She was still in a daze, because she hadn't even known what had happened. It was all just too bizarre. Why was she able to speak to mom so clearly right before, and how did Naoki know that there was a fire at her house? Why had he saved her if he hated her? It was all just too confusing. Home sounded nice to return to.

When the conversation between the nurse and her father came to a stop, the nurse stated that she was going to get her food. As she left, she ushered the younger nurse out with her.

It became very quiet as her father stood above her. He quietly walked around the bed to the chair on the other side, and sat down with a sigh. He reached out for Ai's hand, and gripped it gently.

"Are you in pain, Ai?" he asked quietly.

Ai shook her head. "I don't feel anything."

He nodded his head. "the pain killers," he stated, obviously.

"Well, we don't have a house anymore."

"What?" Ai stuttered. "What?"

"It all burned down, not a trace of it left. We have to move."

"You-you're serious?" Ai thought of all her things-her acceptance letter to her high school, her pictures with her friends, her diary, and everything that held sentimental value-her picture of mom-it was all gone. Tears welled up in her eyes as she took all of it in.

"I have a friend who is allowing us to stay at his place for now. It's a very nice place. We're lucky to have this chance. You will even be able to attend the same high school."

_Oh yay. I still get to see that jerk Naoki,_ she thought bitterly.

"That's good," she replied reluctantly. "Hey dad, I'm still really tired. I think I'm going to go back to sleep."

"Alright." Her father got up awkwardly and left the room. He was never sure how to act around his daughter. He didn't know how to handle women, except for his past wife, Haruma. As he left, Ai drifted off into a restless sleep.

The whole week went by very slowly. Ai was slowly able to move again, and soon walked quite normally, aside from the fact that she still wasn't very fast.(going to gym one day, decides she's ready to try-winds up having her body give up control) Akiko came to visit her often, and gave her the assignments that she missed in class. She seemed to be reluctant to speak of how school was. She often avoided the topic.

"Just concentrate on getting better," she said many times.

Finally, the day came when she could leave. She still had to take many painkillers, because the burns she had were most definitely painful. She often didn't feel it though, since she was always taking it. Her father led her carefully out of the hospital toward a cab.

"My friend insisted on having the chauffeur pick us up, but I denied him. We are not charity, after all."

Ai began to wonder just how well off this guy was if he had a chauffeur.

They drove for a little while until they began driving through a well-off looking neighborhood. They turned off to a road with a huge gate. Her father got out and pushed the intercom button.

"Ichigawa! We're here!"

"Yamada! Come right in! I'll get everyone assembled to meet you!"

Ai looked shocked. Naoki's last name was Ichigawa…but that was a coincidence, right?

The doors swung open, and the taxi driver proceeded through the gates. They drove for five minutes down the very long driveway. Finally they approached a huge mansion-bigger than Ai had ever seen before.

"Dad-we're not-"

"Just for a little while, Ai. Don't get used to it. Ichigawa is a good friend of mine from grade school. He's also the one I asked a favor from to allow you to go to the high school you attend today.

"No way.." Ai murmured.

They pulled up to the roundabout in front of the mansion, and her father handed the taxi driver the money.

"Have a great day," the taxi driver said, and then drove off, leaving her and her father to stand in front. Suddenly the front doors swung open, and a chubby, happy man came rushing out.

"Yamada! I thought I'd never see you in person again! What a pleasant surprise-though not fortunate circumstances. I'm sure my wife and I can provide for you.

Ai's worst fears were confirmed when a blonde-haired woman with blue eyes stepped out the door. "Welcome, Yamada family. We are very excited to have you." She spoke in perfect Japanese. It was to be expected from the well established Ichigawa family, afterall.

Then, to Ai's horror, Naoki stepped out, bowing. "Welcome to our home, Yamada-san. I hope you find it to your liking." He smiled at Ai's father, but then sent a smirk to Ai. She shuddered. It was just her luck to be living with the guy that hated her with a passion. Oh great.

"Please, won't you come in?" Ichigawa-san reached for Ai's father, and began to lead him inside. Ichigawa's beautiful wife reached for Ai, and gently touched her elbow. May I bring you in? I have a wonderful room prepared for you. I am sure you are very tired, as well.

Ai reluctantly allowed herself to be steered inside. Naoki held the door with that huge smirk of his still planted on his face. Ai made sure to keep her head down so as not to make eye contact with him.

"You can call me Alice," Ichigawa's wife said friendly. "I'm sorry that this house is so huge. I hope you don't get lost in here. I tried to make sure that you were close to the front door so that you don't have to walk as far."

Regardless of Alice's efforts, it was still a long walk to the bedroom that she had prepared for her. Nonetheless, they finally approached it.

"Go ahead," Alice smiled. "Open it."

Ai lifted a cautious hand and turned the knob of the door. When she opened it, she was shocked by the amount of pink and frills she found. She had a canopy over a huge king-sized bed, and a room the size of any huge living room in a well-off house. Walking in, she discovered that she had a dresser, _and_ a make up table.

"Don't forget you have a closet here, as well." Alice opened a door to reveal another "room". It was packed with so many clothes that Ai had no idea what to do about it. Everything was just so gorgeous, and there was so much.

"It's all yours, Ai."

Ai gasped. "No-I couldn't!"

"Oh, but you can. I _want_ you to."

Ai nervously nodded, but didn't intend to take advantage of all these belongings like Alice asked her to. After all, they wouldn't be here for very long.

"Well, I know you are very tired. I have a tray set up for you over there." She pointed in the direction of a couch with a coffee table in front of it. On it were some cookies, cheese and crackers. There was also green tea.

"I'll leave you alone, then," Alice headed for the door, "and if you need anything, you can push that button there, and a maid will answer you."

"Thank you very much, Ichigawa-san," Ai bowed slightly.

"Please, call me Alice." She smiled once again, and left.

Ai sighed as she sat down on the bed. A twinge of discomfort let her know it was time to take another dose of her painkillers. _I wonder why they are so nice?_ She wondered as she reached for the green tea and pulled the medicine out of her pocket. _How did they wind up with such a rude son?_ After taking the medicine, she lay quietly on her new bed, and closed her eyes. It was not hard to fall asleep on such a comfortable bed. It was such a luxury that she was afraid that she'd get too used to it.

She didn't know how long she had slept except that it was now dinner time, and a maid had knocked on her door.

"Excuse me, miss, but I have been asked to conduct you to the dining room, if you are feeling well enough.

"I-of course!" Ai stuttered as she got up. "Can I have five minutes to prepare?"

"Of course, miss."

As quickly as she could, she splashed water on her face to wake herself up. She reached for a brush provided for her, and brushed through her long flowing black hair. It would have to do.

Ai opened the door to the maid.

"This way, miss" the maid led Ai through a maze of hallways until they reached a grand room with a long dining table. Everyone was already seated, including a small girl that Ai had not met yet. She smiled at her, but it didn't seem to be in a friendly way.

"Please sit here," the maid pulled out a chair.

Oh no-_no!_ The seat the maid had pulled out was _right_ next to Naoki. That would be just her luck.

Despite her contempt for the situation, she smiled courteously and took her seat.

"I believe you haven't met my daughter Whinnie," Alice gestured toward the small figure.

"Nice to meet you," the little girl smiled as sweetly as she could. Somehow Ai knew she was up to no good. Nevertheless, she was absolutely gorgeous. She looked much like her mother. She had the slim Asian structure, but she had the blonde hair and blue eyes like Alice. She seemed to be about nine years old.

"Shall we eat?" Ichigawa-san asked. "I'm starving."

"Oh yes, let's," Alice hurriedly placed her napkin in her lap.

"Itakakimasu," Naoki murmured as he reached for his fork and knife.

Dinner was western style, Ai noticed. There were rolls and butter, and pulled chicken with soup and salad.

"Would you like some butter, Ai?" Naoki asked her.

To hear him speak so kindly and nonchalantly caught Ai off guard. It made her kind of like him again. _No. He's a jerk. Get a hold of yourself, Ai, _she thought to herself.

"Yes, thank you," she replied as kindly as she could. She eyed him with caution, trying to figure him out. When he caught her staring, he winked at her.

_What was that all about?_ Ai blushed and angrily stared at her food. She began violently cutting at her chicken, and shoved it in her mouth.

"Oh my, you must be hungry!" Alice exclaimed.

Oops. "Oh, eheh, yes, maybe.." no. Not at all. Just angry.

"Oh yes, mother," Naoki began, "I used to watch her in middle school-she ate like a cow!"

Oh that was it. Never would she ever crush on this jerk again.

"Naoki, that's rude! Don't speak of our guests in that manner please." Ichigawa-san spoke sternly towards his son. "Please apologize."

Naoki got up and bowed toward Ai. "I'm sorry," he stated. "That was wrong of me."

Everyone settled, obviously ok with the apology that Naoki had just given, but Ai was completely disturbed. _That JERK._ It was all she could do to not punch him. How could he?

"So how long do you plan to intrude in brother's room?" Whinnie asked Ai. "I like brother close to me!"

Ai suddenly perked up, looking nervously at Alice, and then passed a quick glance at Naoki.

"Is this true?" she stuttered.

"Ah, yes. It is just a bit inconvenient of you to take up my space, but mother insisted that you have it. I don't know why-there are so many other rooms to choose from."

"Naoki!" Alice reached over and slapped his hand.

Abruptly he stood up and placed his napkin on his plate. "I'm going to my replacement room for the night. Good night."

When Naoki had turned out of the room and was out of earshot, Alice apologized for her son's rudeness.

"He's not always like this, I promise. He's just been acting odd lately. Maybe you can figure out what it is." Her eyes looked pleading as she looked intently at Ai.

"Don't ask unnecessary things, Alice," her husband told her. "Ai is a guest in our household."

"Yes, but-"

"Don't argue."

Alice bit her lip. Ai could tell that culture was biting culture. She had always heard that American women were headstrong, and therefore usually didn't last in a relationship with a Japanese man. Despite this fact, however, Ai could tell they were quite happy together. Alice was just not quite used to Japanese customs.

Suddenly, Ai realized how tired she was. She also noticed that it was time to take her medicine, yet again.

"If you'll excuse me, I am going to rest a little more. I want to try to go to school tomorrow." Ai pushed herself out of her chair gently, and then pushed the chair back in. "Thank you for the food." She walked out of the room to find the same maid that walked her to the dining room waiting for her.

"Since you still don't know the house very well, I will lead you to your room," she said courteously.

"Thank you," Ai said gratefully. She had forgotten about the winding passageways, and quite frankly, she wasn't in the mood for such a challenge. All she wanted to do was rest.

By the time they reached her bedroom, Ai was in quite a lot of pain. She had missed her dose by an hour, and was suffering from neglecting her medicine. The maid kindly opened the door for her, and politely asked if there was anything she could do for her.

"I'm ok, thank you," Ai replied, "I just need to take my medicine and go to sleep."

"It will be as you say," the maid bowed and then left her alone, closing the door after her.

Groaning, Ai searched through her bag for her next dose. It burned. It hurt. A lot. In the midst of her searching, she heard the door open and then close. She didn't pay attention, because she was beginning to black out a bit from the pain.

"Aren't you going to thank me?" a voice out of thin air scared her to pieces.

"Wha? Oh. For what?" she asked, more mumbling through the pain.

"For _saving_ you from your death in a fire? I even burned my hand. See?" Naoki towered over her, and looking up at him hurt her head-the light was above him, allowing only his silhouette to be seen.

"I'm sorry your hand burned-thank you for saving me. Is that all?" Ai didn't mean to be short with him, but she really couldn't bare it any longer. He was in the way of her taking her medicine.

He laughed. "Thanks for the apology, stupid." He knocked her on the side of her head.

"Ita-" Tears began to form in her eyes as she only halfway shouted that it hurt. All she wanted to do was lay on the floor and cry herself to sleep. Maybe if she did that, Naoki would leave her alone.

"You looking for this?" Naoki asked her, looking at her sideways as she was already on the floor.

"Yes-I need it-please!" Ai hated to beg, but she was running out of options.

"Only if you promise me one thing-you stay away from me."

"Wait-that's it?" Ai stuttered, in surprised.

"Duh. What part of that was too hard to understand? Oh wait. I forgot that you were part of the dumb class. It's only thanks to my dad that you even attend my school."

Oooh that guy. It was getting easier and easier to hate him. It would be easy to keep this promise. She didn't want to even _see_ him again. She would happily leave the _continent_.

"I've had enough of this." Naoki tossed the medicine at her. "Just don't forget the promise."

He walked out briskly and shut the door.

When he left, Ai let out a whimper as she opened the medicine cap and shoved a pill in her mouth. It hurt too much to go get water, so swallowing it with her saliva would have to work.

_If he hates me so much, why did he even save me in the first place? He could have let me die, and all of his problems would have been solved._

Ai was bitter with frustration. She eventually found strength enough to drag herself up on her bed, and then quickly after that, fell asleep. It was a nice escape. She dreamed of hanging out with Akiko and all of their old friends from middle school. Those days had been so simple, but now they were complicated. Little did she know that things were about to become a lot more than complicated.

12


End file.
